Mare Island Museum cleaned, repaired during King holiday project

Dusting a display on the USS Mariano G. Vallejo submarine inside the Mare Island Museum, Rebecca Taylor-Ford on Monday said cleaning had never been more fun -- or educational.

The Kaiser nurse was one of more than 100 volunteers who took part in Rebuilding Together Solano County's annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day project.

Elsewhere in Vallejo and also timed to the observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, about three dozen protesters gathered on the Vallejo Police Department steps.

The event generally consisted of speaker-amplified anti-police brutality chanting like "no justice, no peace," led by the family of Mario Romero, who was shot and killed by Vallejo police in September. Underlying the protest were accusations that Vallejo police actions are race-based.

The Mare Island museum effort involved cleaning and repairing the museum which houses artifacts from the former Mare Island Naval Shipyard.

"This is the most exciting cleaning experience I've ever had. I'm getting a

history lesson at the same time," Taylor-Ford said. She works at the Kaiser

Permanent Medical Center in Vallejo, but had never been to the museum before Monday.

Serving as the museum's home for years, Building 46 is one of the oldest structures on Mare Island. Prior to Monday's massive cleaning effort, the facility was in huge need of an extensive cleaning, volunteer museum director Joyce Giles said.

"This is wonderful. We really appreciate it," Giles said of Rebuilding Together's project. "We're able to keep up for the most part but we don't have a full-time janitor," she added.

Volunteers even helped build a new exhibit to house the control room of the USS Mariano Vallejo, a nuclear submarine launched from Mare Island in 1965 and named after the city's founder.

"We sure can use the help and the place needs a good cleaning," volunteer guide William Dornik said.

Though students and some workers had Monday day off, many responded to the call for service, a hallmark of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday. Realtor Johnny Walker attacked a wall of plaques with a dusting clothe.

"I love plaques so this is perfect for me," he said.

Vallejo High School student Charnette Briggs painted a wall with several classmates in the Willie B. Adkins college training program. "This is really good. I like giving back and doing things for people," she said.

A relatively new Vallejo resident, Marta Leonard said she joined the effort to meet people and learn more about her new place of residence. Formerly of Chicago, Leonard runs an intensive care unit at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center which sent out dozens of people to help out at the museum.

California Maritime Academy student Alex Baird said he had never been to the museum before and was enjoying being inside the historic building and working on a Vietnam-era PBR (Patrol Boat, River).

Cal Maritime sent nearly 40 students to help out, said StevanEdgecombe from the school's office of community engagement. Numerous young men form the school polished and shined up drill presses and other equipment once housed inside the former base's Machine Shop.

"This is the first time I've seen Mare Island," student Tyler Talan said as he cleaned a drill bit.

With the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday on the minds of many, volunteer Paul del Rosario said he was gratified to be spending the day with his teen-aged daughter volunteering for the community.

Many businesses and organizations made the event possible, including Kaiser, Kelly Moore Paints, Recology Vallejo, among others. Rebuilding Together Monday also held work service days in Fairfield and Vacaville.